I feel really good about this

We're having a pretty decent day so far. I've spent the morning taking pictures of review items and preparing to work on the write-ups for each item. The boys have been playing together and playing together nicely. I can't explain how nice it is to see that. They don't get along very well because of them being in different developmental places. I'm thrilled to see them playing together. 😀 Gavin's been incognito for most of the day. He must be running missions and saving the world. As bad as it sounds for me to say this, I'm grateful he's otherwise occupied because if he weren't, he'd most likely be driving me crazy with his constant talking. Sometimes I need a break from his voice, and while it may sound harsh,…

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Car trouble is changing the course of our day

We're rescheduling Gavin's appointment at the Cleveland Clinic today. I mentioned last night that we have a warning light popping up in the car. I haven't had a chance to dig into it yet, and it's not worth the risk. Lizze has an early morning appointment today. The only major thing we have left is therapy tonight. I will, of course, be visiting my Grandmother at some point, and I still need to go walking. I have writing to do and some projects to work on. I have an end of the week deadline, and I'm making serious progress. 👍

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You won’t believe what happened today or why the police showed up at our door

Today was one of those take the good with the bad kinda days. Gavin's appointment at Akron Children's Hospital went well, and he doesn't need to go back for one year. That assumes he doesn't have any problems between now and then. This is incredibly positive because Gavin has historically gained doctors and not been able to semi-remove them from his life. I have put this firmly in the win column for him. 😀 Lizze was a total trooper. She made sure she went with us to Akron Children's Hospital, even though she was far from feeling up to going. We've had some crazy weather for the last week, and the barometric pressure changes cause her and many others living with fibromyalgia, a tremendous amount of pain. She's not been…

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Teenagers are tough, but teenagers with #Autism can be even tougher

My wife and I have about 20 years of Autism parenting experience. Gavin's going to be 20 years old in January, but our journey with him was anything but typical, even for an Autistic kid. The reason I say that is because now that Elliott is a teenager and Emmett's not too far behind, we're finding it a completely different experience than we had with Gavin. In many ways, it's very much like we're going through all of this for the first time because our frame of reference with Gavin not proving to be helpful. Gavin functions at a much lower capacity than the boys, and that presented us with a unique set of challenges. Elliott and Emmett are very high functioning but struggle in many ways that Gavin didn't.…

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I feel like this is a total victory

Gavin's appointment at the always amazing Akron Children's Hospital went very well. Most of his gastro symptoms have subsided, and he does not require regular medication in that area of his life. While he's not really gaining weight, he's maintaining where he is, and that's a good thing. His doctor is happy with his progress in the weight department. Gavin spoke up a few times, but it didn't cause any confusion during the appointment. Sometimes it does because of Gavin wanting to say what he thinks the other person wants to hear. Accuracy is not his thing and makes things more confusing than it has to be. He did an excellent job today. He doesn't even have to come back for 12 months. After that appointment, if all is well,…

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Guess where we are today

We've made it to see our friends at Akron Children's Hospital, and did so on time. That's quite an accomplishment if you've driven through Akron in recent years. Anyway, this is a follow-up with Gastroenterology for Mr. Gavin. I don't expect anything Earth-shattering to occur today. Gavin's in a pretty good mood, and he's having a decent day thus far. He's a bit animated though. I guess manic would be a better or more accurate word to use, but it's not mania how he's historically experienced mania. He's just really happy, very exaggerated in much of what he does, and is extremely talkative. It's not bad, at least comparatively speaking but it's enough that we can tell something is going on. I do suspect it will be a bit annoying…

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We had a scary afternoon

It's been an eventful and sometimes even scary day. We survived it, though, and everyone is doing well. First of all, my Grandmother scared us a bit today. Her blood pressure crashed this afternoon, and she had to be placed on an IV for a small fluid bolus. That only lasted about 25 minutes because she's in advanced heart failure, and fluids aren't her friend. She's doing better, and that's quite a relief. It was scary, though because her pressure was dangerously low and based on her wishes, heroic or life-saving measures will not be taken. If you could keep her in the thoughts and prayers, that would be greatly appreciated. By the time I got home, Lizze had made arrangements for the boys to spend the night at her…

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The impulsivity alone is exhausting

There were some frustrating points in our day today, especially in regards to Gavin's IVIG infusion. He was supposed to do the infusion on Friday, but we were seeing a movie that morning, and he decided that he wanted to do it Saturday instead. No harm no foul. We figured we'd let him make that decision because he was handling it responsibly, and that's something we want to foster. When it came time to do his infusion, however, he was very nervous and not super cooperative as a result. He was very loud and demanding. He didn't mean anything by it, but that doesn't make it less frustrating in the moment. It's not always easy to remember that while he's almost 20 years old on the outside, he's only about…

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